Rescue light for a life support system

ABSTRACT

The combination of a rescue light attached to a life support system, such as a life vest, life raft, or life preserver. The lighting device consists of a transparent envelope containing a chemiluminescent element which is activated by the admission of a gas. The gas serves the additional purpose of inflating said envelope to form a substantially rigid wand of light. Means may be provided to quickly detach the wand from the support system.

United States Patent Black 1 1 Feb. 1, 1972 [54] RESCUE LIGHT FOR A LIFE SUPPORT 3,019,459 2/1962 Ripley ..9/32l SYSTEM 3,199,128 8/1965 Niijd ..9/316 3,441,963 5/1969 Steinthal ..9/314 [72] Inventor: Richard I. B1ack,-C1oster, NJ. [73] Assignee' Remington Arms Company Inc f Examiner rrrygve Blix- B rt C Assistant Examiner-Steven W. Wemneb gepo Attorney-John H. Lewis, Jr. and Nicholas Skovran [22] Filed: Jan. 12, 1970 [57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 2,201

The combination of a rescue light attached to a life support system, such as a life vest, life raft, or life preserver. The [52] US. Cl "9/321, 9/313, 9/316, lighting device consists of a transparent envelgpe containing a chemiluminescent element which is activated by the admis- [51 1 Int. Cl. ..B63c 9/18 sion of a gas. The gas serves the additional purpose of inflating- [58] Field of Search ..9/321,316,314;240/2.25, said envelope to form a substantially rigid wand of light. 240/6.4, 59 Means may be provided to quickly detach the wand from the support system. [56] Rem-anus cued 1 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTS Cline ..240/2.25

PATENTEDFEBI BT22 3,638,258

Inventor= Rxchard I. B\ack 5 Attorneys RESCUE LIGHT FOR A LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM This invention pertains to a combination rescue light and life support system, and more particularly to a rescue light for a life support system which contains a chemiluminescent lighting element that is activated by the admission ofa gas.

Signal attachments for lift support systems are notoriously old. The prior art shows a myriad of illuminating means and methods of deploying the signal.

This invention is a followup application to the patent issued to Cline, US. Pat. No. 3,360,426; issued Dec. 26, I967. The Cline invention refers to a chemiluminescent panel or envelope, which he states is suitable for the emergency lighting of life rafts, life vests, and like applications. The present invention deals with some of the specifics of attaching anddeploying the chemiluminescent panels to the life support systems. Because of the particular nature of the activation of the panels by means of admission of a gas, they lendthemselves quite readily to novel methods of deployment within the life support systems.

The luminescent element is activated by a gas, hence, the gas can serve the additional purpose of inflating the envelope so that the envelope can form a substantially rigid wand of light. The rigidity of the envelope then lends itself to many important applications, for example:

As a rigid wand which can extend beyond the life support structure and provide an easily observable signal light, which is quite useful in rough seas, in that it can be projected above the waves. The envelope may also be made to encompass or circumscribe the support system about its peripheral surfaces so as to provide a target effect to the observer.

In another application of the inflatable gas concept, the rigid wand can be made to be held in the hand for the purposes of signalling for a rescue. In other words, it may be waved to and fro so as to add animation to the signal.

The activation by gaseous means particularly adapts itself to life support systems, since many of these systems are themselves inflatable. As a result, it is possible to employ the mechanism of inflation for the life systems as a means to inflate and activate the signal devices. Where this may not be practical, nor desirable, however, a separate inflation means can be used. The fact that an inflatable vehicle can activate the support apparatus and may also be used for activating the light mechanism is highly advantageous from an operability standpoint. That is to say, that the operator need learn only a single method of producing a result. I-Ie need not be confused by having to learn alternate or duplicate schemes of activation. In times of emergency, when individuals tend to act by instinct rather than logic, situations involving decision or choice making are undesirable, and shouldbe minimized. In this regard, the above method is highly advantageous, because only a single system of activation need be learned.

In addition, inflation is a rapid method of producing a workable system. Since time is usually of the essence in emergencies, inflatable methods are extremely practical, and often necessary.

The envelope is capable of being folded when it is uninflated, and requires but a small storage space or pocket within the life system. A quickly removable patch may be used to cover over the pocket to produce a rapidly deployable signal.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rescue light in combination with a life support system of the class such as life vest, life raft, and life preserver.

It is another object of this invention to provide a rescue light for a life support system which contains a chemiluminescent lighting element which is activated by the admission of gas.

This invention contemplates a luminescent lighting element for life support systems which is inflatable to form a substantially rigid wand of light.

It is a further contemplation of the present invention to provide a rescue light for life support systems which is both light activated and inflated by the admission of a gas.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a signal element which can be easily stored in and quickly deployed from a life support system.

A further object of the invention contemplates a quick disconnect-means between the rigidwand of light and the life support system so that the life support system may be equipped with replaceable wand elements and therefore be used more than once.

It is also contemplated by the present invention that a life support system and rescue light combination provide a light element which may be held in the hand and waved to and fro to signal for a rescue.

These and further objects of the invention will become evident with reference to the detailed description and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows the basic elements of the lighting device;

FIG. 2 depicts the lighting device in'combination witha life support vest, wherein the device is in the unactivated state; and

FIG. 3 illustrates the lighting device in combination with a life support vest, wherein the device is in the activated state.

Generally speaking, the present invention is for the combination of a life support system and an emergency lighting device. The life support system is of the class consisting of a life vest, life raft, and life preserver. The lighting device comprises an inflatable transparent envelope containing a chemiluminescent. lighting element which is activated by the admission of a gas. The gas also serves the additional purpose of inflating said envelope.

The invention to be described hereinafter takes on several separate and distinct aspects.

First, aquick disconnect means is provided between the envelope and the-life support system to which it is attached, so that a new envelope may be used as a replacement for an expended envelope. Consequently, the life support apparatus may be used more than once. 0

Second, the envelope can be folded in the uninflated state so that the envelope may be conveniently stored within a small pocket of the life support system, and further wherein the envelope takes the form of a substantially rigid wand of light in the inflated state; and

Third, means are provided to house the envelope in the life support system in the uninflated condition, but allow the envelope to assume an exterior position with respect to the life support system when the envelope is inflated.

Now referring to FIG. 1, the basic elements of the lighting device are shown.

A transparent envelope 6 is shown containing a chemiluminescent element 8. Gas is admitted to the envelope through the connection 5. he gas serves two purposes: to inflate the envelope and to activate the lighting element. The connection 5 not only serves to admit the gas, but is attached to the gas supply tube 7 by means of a quick disconnect snap. The counterpart of the connection 5 of the envelope is the connection element 5 of the tube. Elements 5 andS, respectively, connect together to provide for admission of the gas to the envelope. This connection must provide a seal between the tube 7 and the envelope 6. At the same time, the connection may also provide a quick-disconnect feature so that the inflated envelope may be easily detached and a new replacement element substituted therefor.

The gas is provided by means of a compressed gas cylinder 9, which is activated to release the gas by yanking upon the tab 3. Automatic release of the gas may also be provided in cases where the individual is unconscious. In such a case, the cartridge may activate upon contact with sea water, or by other suitable means. The gas from the cartridge 9 is made to flow through tube 7 into the envelope 6 through the connection 5-5.

Now referring to FIG. 2, we are shown the lighting device as adapted to a life vest. The lighting device is in the unactivated state.

FIG. 3 depicts the lighting device in combination with a life vest after activation.

The life vest 4 has a pocket 2 in which the compressed gas cartridge 9 is housed. The gas tube 7 is sewn into the lining of the vest as shown. The vest has another pocket 19 for housing the envelope 6. The envelope is denominated by 6' (FIG. 2) and 6" (FIG. 3), respectively, to depict the uninflated and inflated states for the envelope.

The tube 7 attaches to the envelope 6 and conveys gas thereto. The envelope in FIG. 2 is shown folded within the pocket 19. A patch 21 fits over the pocket 19 to protect the pocket and its contents. The patch takes the form of a quickly removable tape, so that the envelope can quickly emerge from the pocket upon inflation.

The covering tape 21 can be attached to the vest in many ways so as to be easily removable. A Velcro" backing material may be used. This is a material consisting of two separate linings. One of the linings contains many little book fasteners. The mating tape contains a pile which has many little loops to ensnare the hooks. To fasten the tapes, one needs only to press the two tapes together. To take them apart, one just peels one tape away from the other.

Of course, more conventional means of fastening may be employed such as mechanical snaps or similar attaching mechanisms. These fasteners can be designed to automatically release on inflation of the envelope or support system, or they may be removed by hand.

The envelope 6", as shown in FIG. 3, is illustrated in the inflated state. In this condition the folded envelope 6 (FIG. 2) expands to form a rigid wand of light which extends outward from the exterior of the vest. As was previously mentioned, this wand may be detached and used as a hand signal, by waving it back and forth.

Although the drawings depict only a life vest embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same techniques may be used in other life support systems such as life rafts, or life preservers.

It is also contemplated that activation or triggering mechanisms and releasable tapes may be made to be automatic or self-energizing (pressure sensitive) so that signal deployment takes place with a minimum of manual effort.

The chemiluminescent material referred to herein may be any one of the following oxygen-activated light-producing substances, but the invention is not contemplated by the inventor to be so limited: tetrakis (dimethylamino) ethylene, tetrakis (N-pyrrolidinyl) ethylene, l, l, 3, 3-tetramethyl-A 2,2'-bi(imidazolidine), l, 1', 3, 3'-tetraethyl-A2,2- bi(imidazolidine), l, l, 3, 3'-tetramethyl-A2,2'-bi(hexahydropyrimidine), and tetrakis(dimethylaminomethyleneamino) ethylene.

The envelope may be constructed of a polamide film, viz, a transparent film of polycaprolactam, poly( hexamethyleneadipamide) or poly(hexamethylenesebacamide). Contained therein is a porous substrate impregnated with the luminescent chemical. The porosity serves the purpose of providing a greater activating surface area.

These and other modifications and variations that will be evident to those skilled in the art are considered by the inventor to be within the spirit and scope of the invention as depicted by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A life jacket having an emergency lighting device, comprising:

a cartridge of compressed gas contained within said jacket;

actuating means attached to said cartridge for manually releasing said gas;

a housing within the life jacket comprising a small pocket having a portion of its interior wall opening unto the surface of said jacket;

a removable patch covering said pocket opening;

a long but narrow transparent inflatable envelope folded within said pocket and containing a chemiluminescent lighting element which is activated by the admission of said gas to said envelope, said envelope additionally assuming an exterior position to said life jacket upon admission of said activating gas whereupon the envelope becomes a substantially rigid wand;

a conduit disposed within said jacket and connected to the cartridge of compressed gas at on e end thereof; a quickisconnectmg valve of unltized construction connected between the other end of said conduit and said en-l velope, comprising means to admit the gas to said envelope and seal the gas therein, and a fastener member integrally formed with said sealing means to form a unitized,

connective element, whereby the release of the gas from said cartridge will cause the gas to flow through said conduit and thence through said valve disconnect into said envelope inflating said envelope into extending outwardly from said life jacket and which upon disconnection from said quick disconnecting valve, may be grasped by the hand so as to be projected significantly beyond the immediate area of the jacket and thereby provide a highly visible signal. 

